MOCAP / Virtual Schools Information​

In accordance with state law, eligible students may participate in virtual courses or a full-time program of instruction through the Missouri Course Access and Virtual School Program (MOCAP). Parents and students interested in learning more about virtual courses can click here for more information. Please contact John Smith at 573-739-2014 or john.smith@salemr80.org with any questions concerning this program.

Salem HS 2020 Senior Virtual Art Show

Employee Open Enrollment

Food Service Bids

April 23, 2020 -- The Salem R-80 Food Service Program is taking bids for food and supplies for the school year 2020-2021 until June 30th, 2020.

Senior Information

Parents and StudentsPrior to letting school out for the Covid-19 crises the HS staff handed out packets to students that were planning to take the (EOC) End of Course Exams. The plan was to have students turn in the work. However, Last week the Missouri Gov. has issued a stay at home order. Therefore, we will not be accepting this work at this time. We will communicate after the order is lifted as to how we want student work delivered. Sorry for any communication issues. Thank you so much for your support.Marty Anderson​High School PrincipalParents/ Guardians,I wanted to communicate a couple of items which is on peoples mind, Graduation and Prom. We will plan for and conduct both when it is safe to do so. At this time we have not set a date for either. Josten's will deliver your Senior's purchases at a later date, prior to Graduation. Nathan will be sending out a video to your senior. If you have questions please feel free to contact me at marty.anderson@salemr80.org. We will keep you updated through messages such as this, the R-80 Web Site and your child's school e mail account.Together we will make your Senior's experience a positive one.Please check these frequently for updates.Thank you,Marty AndersonPrincipal, Salem High School

March 12 - March 28, 2020 Emerson Young Artists’ Showcase is a juried all-media exhibition of artwork created by high school students between 15 and 19 years old residing within 150 miles of the St. Louis Artists’ Guild. The annual Young Artists’ Showcase has supported artistically inclined students for over 60 years.

HS Reality Fair

March 5, 2020 -- Students from Mrs. Pryor's Personal Finance class participated in a Reality Fair on Wednesday, March 4th. Prior to Wednesday, the students researched careers and starting salaries, discussed paycheck deductions, and practiced putting together a sample budget. So when they walked into the Reality Fair, their chosen careers and starting salaries were printed on their individual budget worksheet. From there, they visited 14 different booths where they made choices on everything from car loans to apartment rentals to insurance to pets! One booth even contained a "Wheel of Reality" that gave students unexpected expenses or income such as birthday money or new tires for their car. After visiting each booth, bank employees were available to help students calculate their expenses and ensure they had a positive ending balance. Those who were in the red had a chance to get a second job, and those who had money left over were encouraged to put more money towards savings.

Feedback from the students has been very positive! Overall, they feel that the simulation was fun and informative. Several mentioned that it was nice to be able to make personalized choices and see how far their expected paycheck will go. I want to thank Progressive Ozark Bank for giving of their time and resources to organize such a valuable and fun event! I also thank Keith Inman of Inman Insurance and Chris Heavin of Heavin Motors for participating in the event and providing professional information to the students

Salem High School Quiz Bowl

February 25, 2020 -- The Salem High School Quiz Bowl Teams took four individual medals at the Mountain Grove Invitational Tournament on Saturday, February 22. The teams were forced to play short due to influenza. Typically a Quiz Bowl Team has at least four players. Saturday the Varsity Team had only three players and the Junior Varsity Team had only two. Neither team trophied, but did very well considering that they were playing short. Playing for the Varsity team were: Martin Jones, Nate Darby, and Will Shaffer. Will took home a Second Place Individual Varsity medal. Nate took home a Third Place Individual Varsity medal. Playing for the Junior Varsity team were Tyler Seabaugh and Tyler Schellhammer. Tyler Schellhammer took home a Sixth Place Individual Junior Varsity medal. Tyler Seabaugh took home a Ninth Place Individual Medal.This was a big tournament with two divisions of 18 teams. There were nine round robin games. Round 1 Varsity played Thayer Green and lost in a blowout 590 to 80. Round 2 Salem played Houston Black and won 320 to 130. Game 3 was a win against Clever Blue 120 to 230. Game 4 Salem played the Houston Red team and lost by one question 220 to 230. Game 5 Salem won against Springfield team Glendale Blue 150 to 250. Game 6 was another close loss to Strafford 210 to 240. Game 7 was a clear victory against Summersville 240 to 60. Game 8 Salem was beaten by Thayer White 210 to 300. Game 9 was a bye.Round 1 JV beat Glendale Red 220 to 180. Round 2 was a loss to Clever 180 to 120. Round 3 JV then beat the Glendale White team 140 to 110. Round 4 was a loss to home team Mountain Grove Maroon 280 to 110. Round 5 was another loss to Richland A 190 to 150. Round 6 was a win over a win over Summersville Black 130 to 80. Round 7 JV won over Mountain Grove Gray 180 to 90. Round 8 was a bye. Round 9 was another win against Richland B 160 to 120. Competitive trophies went to Thayer Green first, Houston Red second, Thayer White third. Standard trophies went to Richland A first, Mountain Grove Maroon second, Clever While third. Final stats for Salem were 5 wins 4 losses for Varsity and 6 wins 3 losses for JV. Coaches Susan Sheeley and Will Hubbs reported that they were very pleased the kids did so well considering the disadvantages of playing short on both teams. The teams next play in the SCA Conference Tournament March 7.

High School Language Arts Department

January 28, 2020 -- The Language Arts department has been striving all year to challenge our students to learn and grow in their communication skills within the classroom. (Click here to read more)

High School Art Work on Display

January 2, 2020 -- Checkout the student artwork from Salem High School displayed at the Salem Public Library! (New artwork is displayed about every 6 weeks)

Salem Upper Elementary Christmas Program

December 4, 2019 -- The Salem Upper Elementary Christmas Program was held on December 3rd. Our 4th and 5th graders showed off their singing and dancing talents under the direction of Mrs. Shannon Phelps. We are looking forward to scheduling a spring program for our 2nd and 3rd grades. As soon as dates are set, we will send information out.

High School Quiz Bowl

November 11, 2019 -- Salem Quiz Bowl teams took First Place in both Varsity and JV divisions at their home tournament, Saturday, November 16. Four students earned individual medals. Martin Jones, Varsity Captain, took Third Place Individual. Katrina Parks took Fifth Place Varsity. Heather Maneely, JV Captain, took Fourth Place. Cole tied for Fourth Place. Round One, Varsity went against St. Clair winning easily 270 to 100. Meantime Salem JV defeated Rolla JV 100 to 80. Round Two, Varsity played St. Clair’s second varsity team winning against them 470 to 160. JV played against Crocker but was defeated 250 to 130. Going into the Third Round Rolla, Licking, and Salem were all undefeated. Third Round, Rolla beat St. Clair 270 to 60 making Rolla undefeated with three wins. Salem and Licking played head-to-head with Licking winning over Salem 280 to 250 leaving Licking also undefeated with three wins. JV had a bye for Round Three.Semi-Finals teams were reseeded first by win lose and then by total scores with Rolla seeded first, Licking second, Salem third, and Crocker forth. Rolla beat Crocker and Salem came back to defeat Licking in a close match 240 to 220. Finals, Salem won over undefeated Rolla 260 to 240 to take First Place. Licking took Third over Crocker. JV defeated Crocker JV to take First in the JV Division. Rolla JV took Third. The teams are coached by Susan Sheeley and Will Hubbs. The coaches are especially pleased with the wins since this is a re-building year. Only three Varsity members are returning players, with only one, Katrina Parks, a returning senior. The remainder of the Varsity team and all of the JV team are new players.

HS PE Department

November 12, 2019 --The PE department is currently playing soccer and long base. During the month of October the PE departments and Weight Training classes were finishing up state testing. In weight training class the students have been doing upper body and lower body cycles twice a week as well as doing a CrossFit workout on Wednesdays. The weight training classes have been implementing a lot of foot coordination and foot speed activities in class. Various jump rope routines have been implemented to focus on foot speed, as well as plyometric exercises utilizing plyometric boxes to focus on dynamic explosion. The month of December key points of emphasis in weight training will again be speed, agility, as well as testing of each student on strength gains in each of the three power lifts. Each student had a goal and percent increase to attain by the next testing cycle.

Upper Elementary ​September Students' of the Month

Salem Marching Blue Qualifies ​for Finals Again!

October 7, 2019 -- The Salem Marching Blue traveled to Washington on October 5th to compete in the annual Washington Marching Band Festival. Students competed in preliminary competition against 5 other schools and received 2nd Place Overall as well as winning the Outstanding Color Guard caption for the 2nd time this year. With a score of 74.15 the Salem Marching Blue qualified for another finals performance. In finals they placed 9th overall against 22 other schools. “I’m so proud of my students!” 6th year director David Schatz said, “We were up against schools two or three times our size with much larger budgets and we held our own and even out performed a few.” The Salem Marching Blue will continue their competitive season on October 12th as they travel to Reeds Spring, MO to perform in the Ozark Mountain Marching Festival at 11:45 am. If you’re not able to make it, they will offer a free performance for the community to wrap up their season on October 15 at 7:00 pm located at Tiger Stadium.

William Lynch Elementary ​Advisory Committee Meeting

October 1, 2019 -- Our first quarter WLE Advisory Committee Meeting will be on October 8th at 5pm at the school.Supervision and activities for students will be provided by the SHS NHS.Our focus topic will be Drop-off and Pick-up Procedures.

Salem Marching Blue ​Wins 1st Place in Sullivan

September 26, 2019 -- The Salem Marching Blue traveled to Sullivan on September 21st to compete in the annual Sullivan Marching Band Festival. Students competed in preliminary competition against 3 other schools and received the awards for Outstanding Drum Majors, Outstanding Color Guard, and 1st Place overall in class competition. The Salem Marching Blue gave another memorable performance in finals earning the awards for Outstanding Drum Majors and 8th place overall. This is an outstanding achievement due to the fact that the band was up against much larger schools and bands proving that excellence in performance supersedes the size of the group. The Salem Marching Blue will continue their competitive season on October 5th as they travel to Washington, MO to compete in the Washington Marching Festival performing at 1pm.

High School Volleyball Players CelebrateWilliam Lynch Spotlight Students

September 18, 2019 -- Several members of the Salem High School volleyball team celebrated with the spotlight students of the month at William Lynch Elementary.

HS Fine Arts at the Car Show

September 9, 2019 -- Salem High School fine arts were well represented at the Blue Oval Ford Car Show on Saturday, Sept 7, 2019 at the courthouse square!

William Lynch / Upper Elementary Parent Meeting

August 26, 2019 -- Parents/Guardians of Wm. Lynch Elementary and Upper Elementary students are invited to an informational meeting in the gym at Upper Elementary Library on Wednesday, August 28 at 3:30 p.m. We will be reviewing the Parent-School Compact, the parent involvement policy and discussing the purpose of and programs funded by Title I, II, IV, and V.We hope to see you there.

The High School has 18 overrun copies of the 2019 yearbook for sale. The books are $70 apiece. Contact robyn.taylor@salemr80.org to reserve your copy. The deadline to purchase these copies is Friday, August 16th.

Middle School Book Tasting

August 27, 2019 -- Sixth, seventh, and eighth-grade students participated in a book tasting called Starbooks. Students met in the library for each class period to sample books from several different genres. Students were served hot chocolate and encouraged to sample the books at their table discussing them with their peers. Students had bookmarks to help them record books that they would like to read in the future. Students enjoyed this activity.

LEGAL NOTICE Surplus Property

As per section 177.091 RSMo. 1979, the Salem R-80 Board of Education hereby advertises for sale to the highest bidders surplus property.For a complete listing of items click here or a listing may be picked up at the Administrative Office, 1409 West Rolla Rd. Persons wishing to inspect the property may call Salem R-80 Central Office at 573-729-6642 for the appropriate contact person.

The property will be sold as is by sealed bid to the highest bidder. All persons wishing to bid must present their sealed bid to the attention of John McColloch, Superintendent, 1409 West Rolla Road by 3:00 p.m. Friday, June 12, 2020.

Bid opening will be held at 2:00 p.m. Tuesday, June 16, 2020 in the Central Office Board Room. Bids will be accepted June 16, 2020 at the Salem R-80 Board of Education meeting at 6:00 p.m. Times and dates are tentative. Those awarded the bid will be notified on June 17, 2020. The property is to be removed by the bidder by June 30, 2020. The Board of Education reserves the right to accept or reject any and all bids. Carrie Snider, Secretary Salem R-80 Board of Education Dent County, Missouri

Rob Wofford HS Teacher of the Year 2020

High School Scholarship Winners

May 6, 2020 -- Due to the cancellation of the Scholarship Awards Banquet, the counseling office and administration at Salem High School wanted to honor the seniors that received scholarships. A plan was devised to deliver the scholarships to each student in a fun and celebratory way with balloons and a certificate. Over three days, the students were surprised with their winnings and all parties involved loved the experience. Scholarship List

​Virtual art shows from the St. Louis Artists' Guild and from the State Capitol in Jefferson City. ​

Youth Art Month

March 11, 2020 -- March is Youth Art Month and we had a great turnout for the Opening Night of the Art Across the Ages show! The show will be on display at the ONCRC until the end of March. Come by and check it out!

HS Social Studies Department

March 6, 2020 -- The Social Studies Department has been busy with teaching WWII across both World History and American History. Students enjoy the WWII unit more than almost any other, and we include a multitude of activities to engage the students and peak their interests including propaganda research, movies, bingo, web quests, Holocaust research and creating timelines. Beyond World War II, we have also been preparing our students to take the Missouri Constitution Test in American Government. The Missouri Constitution Test is a requirement for all students to take, and pass for graduation. This can be a stressful time for both teacher and students, but we are confident everyone will do well! In Sociology, students are learning the concepts of socialization, or the process of learning how to socialize with others in an acceptable and appropriate way--something we think students could benefit from learning. In Psychology, students are researching Psychological Disorder, and just finished presenting research about the different types. Geography is wrapping up learning the cultures and landscapes of North and South America.

HS Family and Consumer Sciences

March 5, 2020 -- The FACS Department has started off March like a lion. We have roared into cooking in all the Skilled Cooking Classes AND in Career and Family Living. We are making good use of the new equipment we got from our grant this year. Our new refrigerator is wonderful and if you need a place to fill your water bottle with filtered water and ice, we are the place to come. The new counter-top dishwashers have been more of a conversation piece up to this time. We just haven’t gotten into the habit of using them. We want to thank Tony Miller for putting the adapters on the faucets and hooking the hoses to the machines.Interior Design class is busy discovering their individual style. Their semester long project will use that style through three different projects. It is a great group of girls who beg to watch HGTV while they work and they do both successfully. A few weeks ago we had some fun presentations about the future of housing and what we can look forward to in our houses in the next 100 years. All of the students seem well prepared to live in a smart house…all of them mentioned advances in technology as a part of the future of housing.Child Development was interested to learn about positive parenting. All of the students seemed to embrace the idea and learned some techniques to use to parent with a gentler hand.FCCLA has taken a breather from our really busy fall and winter. One of the members nominated Mrs. Medlock for the 2020 Excellence in Advising award to be presented at Spring Conference. My hope has always been that I work hard enough to let them work as hard as they can.

Upper Elementary Students of the Month

SCA Honor Band

February 4, 2020 -- Congratulations to the 28 High School and Middle School band students who represented Salem R-80 and Northwood R-4 this weekend at the SCA Honor Band Concert. They performed on February 1st in Ava, Missouri.

Middle School District Band

January 21, 2020 -- Salem R-80 Middle School had eight students participate in the 2020 Central District Honor Band on Saturday, January, 18th. They performed a concert at Waynesville High School.

Facility Planning Committeeby John McColloch

January 3, 2020 -- The Salem R-80 School District is in the process of developing a long-range facility plan. The plan is intended to serve as a guide for capital project fund allocations and to set facility priorities as funds become available. The plan is being developed through input from a district facility planning committee. Last April, the district had a facility assessment conducted by an outside firm. The team looked at electrical systems, plumbing systems, and mechanical systems and gave each building a grade based on those three systems. The team then provided recommendations for repairing, replacing, and upgrading capital assets. The district had an average asset score of 2.78 on a 5 point scale which fell in the “fair condition” category. Mechanical systems scored the lowest due to the age of a majority of the HVAC systems in the district. The team then took a look at a combination of observed conditions, interviews with stakeholders, survey results, and assessment scores to develop a recommended list of facility improvement measures. The top five facility improvement measure recommendations from the assessment team are as follows:

Replacement of William Lynch Elementary

Renovation of Vo Ag building

HVAC upgrades for high school, middle school, and upper elementary

Electrical services upgrades

Envelope improvements

A survey was also made available last spring for stakeholder input into facility priorities. The final two questions addressed additional facility input and facility priorities. The top five responses included:

A new elementary school to replace William Lynch

A new high school gymnasium

A construction trades building

A theatre/performing arts center

A new tin gym/locker rooms

The job of the committee is to look through this information and help set the facility priorities for the next five years. No decisions have been made regarding any of these possible projects. School facilities are publically owned and stakeholder input is necessary to develop capital project priorities. The facility committee will decide on which projects take priority and this information will be presented to the Salem R-80 Board of Education in the form of a facility plan. The next Salem R-80 Facility Committee meeting will be on Monday, January 13th at 6:00 pm at the district office. Interested community members are encouraged to attend and be a part of this important process. More information can be obtained by contacting the district office at 729-6642.

FINE ARTS DEPARTMENT 2019-20: December

December 30, 2019 -- December is a very busy time for the Fine Arts departments. The High School and Middle School choirs and bands have been busy preparing for and performing their Winter concerts in December. In addition, the Chamber Singers sang at Echo Bluff for the Tree Lighting Ceremony, at the ONCRC for Trees & Trains, and at the Bonebrake for the annual Victorian Christmas performance and several other community events. The High School, Middle School and Upper Elementary Art Clubs collaborated and created a jungle themed Christmas tree for the Trees and Trains display at the ONCRC as well. Besides performances and displays, the fine arts students had SLO (Student Learning Objective) testing in the classroom this month. This state-mandated test is prepared by each teacher to measure student growth and learning from the beginning of the year to the present. Salem High School has coined the motto: Prepare, Strive and Succeed. Over the past year the Salem Band, Choir & Art programs have brought this motto to life. The Fine Art Programs have created a blueprint for students to follow and understand what it really takes to be successful. There are so many elements needed to lead students to success and we strive to make our programs challenging and competitive for students year in and year out. It starts from Kindergarten all the way until Graduation. Our community and school is very blessed with outstanding performing and visual arts students and programs! We hope you will mark your calendars and take advantage of opportunities to see and hear us in the upcoming events listed below

MarchArt Across the Ages display at the ONCRCYouth Art Month display at the State Capitol in Jefferson City, MOSenate Show art display at the State Capitol in Jefferson City, MOJuried scholarship art show- Young Artist Showcase, in St. Louis, MOMiddle School Choir: Solo & Small Ensemble ContestMar. 5 - HS Band Spaghetti & Ensemble Recital in HS CafeteriaMar. 5 - Solo and Small Ensemble Recital: Vocal MusicMar. 10 - Pre-Festival Concert: Instrumental and Vocal Music in HS GymHS Band & Choir State & District Festival in Union, MO

AprilMiddle School Choir ContestArt Districts in Thayer, MOArt District winners displayed in the Salem High School Library and at the Spring Choir Concert in the high school gymCongressional Art Competition in Rolla, MOApr. 18 - MS Band Festival in Osage Beach, MOApr. 28 - Band Spring Concert in HS GymApr. 30 - HS Band & Choir State Solo & Ensemble Festival in Columbia, MONationals: Chamber Singers, Vocal

SHS Art Calendars

December 2, 2019 -- For the past seventeen years, SHS art students have shared the beauty of our local landmarks and life in the Ozarks through selected drawings in our annual art calendar. Calendars are completed and can be purchased from one of these individuals, or at the Salem News or Public Library, for $10 each. Proceeds will be used to help purchase technology for the art room to allow students to do more digital artwork, preparing them for artistic and creative opportunities in college and in the future workforce.

2019 District Band

November 4, 2019 -- Congratulations to the students who represented the Salem High School Band in the 2019 District Bands on Saturday November 2.

Art Club Paint Party with Seniors

October 21, 2019 -- Art club sponsored our first paint party with the residents at Salem Residential Care Center on Thursday, Oct 17. Isabella Knaack prepared the examples and lead the party with some great help from Amy Chen, Hayden Crow, Regina Lofland, Donavan Raulston, Emma Lewis and William Shaffer. Such a beautiful experience for all!

MS Fall Book Fair

October 8, 2019 -- The Salem Middle School English department will hold a Fall Book Fair Tuesday, October 15, 2018-Thursday, October 17, 2018. The book fair will be in the SMS library and will be open from 5-7 PM on Tuesday and Thursday and after school on Wednesday until 4 PM. Can’t come to the book fair? Check out our online fair at (Click Here). Online orders may be placed from October 9-22, 2018. We hope to see many of you there

Art club involved with the community in support of Breast Cancer Awareness Month in October.

College Application Week

September 30, 2019 -- This year, College Application Week is October 7 - October 11. Ms. Womack is hosting College Application Labs in the library to give seniors time to fill out college applications and have support from the College Adviser. There will be a raffle at the end of College Application Week where 3 winners will be drawn at the beginning of the Homecoming Assembly. Tickets can be earned in 2 ways: answering Ms. Womack's daily college trivia questions (1 ticket per correct answer, 2 tickets max per day) or by playing Ms. Womack's College BINGO game where students will get signatures from teachers based on their college experiences (3 tickets for a full board or 1 ticket for a BINGO). Ms. Womack can be reached at allison.womack@salemr80.org with any questions.

Construction Trades

September 26, 2019 -- The students in Construction 1 and 2 have been busy this year. The Construction 2 students have been working on a 20' deep x 185' long 16' tall building for Roberts/Judson Lumber Yard. They meet me at the job at 7:45 a.m. every morning to start the day. They come to school at the end of third hour. So far they have framed most of the walls and set the steel beams and posts on the front of the building. They are finishing the walls and are working on the rafters for the roof at this time. They will lay the metal on the roof and hang the metal on the outside of the walls. They will also pour an 8' x 185' concrete pad in front of the building. The Construction 1 students have been working on the Flemming building on 4th street. They have had to tear the exterior back wall out in the basement. Once that was done they had to set forms and pour an 8' x 10' concrete pad. They have built a new wall on the concrete and framed a new opening for the door coming into the basement. Upstairs there they have been doing a lot of demolition. Once demo is complete they will build new bathrooms, stairs, sidewalls, redoing the ceilings, and all new electric and plumbing throughout the building.

High School Science

September 20, 2019 -- This is going to be an exciting year for science students at Salem R-80 High School. This is the first year of our new class structure and we are so excited to give our students the ability to carry knowledge and information from one year to the next. We hope to give students the ability to build on their knowledge from previous classes. This will aide retention and allow students carry their cumulative knowledge into standardized tests, like the EOC and the ACT. In Biology students are currently gearing up to learn all about cells. We have just began our discussion on cells and are looking forward to learning how the cells in your body work together to keep us healthy. We are breaking down the processes of the cell in different parts and discussing how they work together. While we spend the majority of our time on preparing for the EOC we also spend time on topics that will carry students on to further biology classes in nursing or medicine. Biology is a required course that we work hard to make fun and engaging.Anatomy and Physiology is currently learning about the skeletal system. The students are enjoying learning about the diseases that affect the skeletal system through a current project their working on. We will be doing pig dissections later this month so the students can get a first-hand look at all the organ systems.College Biology just finished learning about bacteria, viruses and fungi. The students are discovering how these three operate and can make us sick as well as be helpful to us in our daily lives. From the flu virus everyone hates to the fungi that make blue cheeses taste so good. These itty bitty critters are a plethora or varieties. The students have enjoyed discovering things about them through their project presentations and one very gross documentary.Chemistry I students are learning about accuracy and precision as well as proper measurements and measuring tools in the lab. They will be completing their first set of labs on finding the density of diet soda and regular soda by using water displacement to measure their volumes. They will also be using some forensic science and use density to date a coin.Chemistry II students are currently researching the elements on the periodic table and discovering some concerns of some elements that will affect modern society. The modern drive for elements has brought new pitfalls, such as new forms of scarcity. For example, we are currently running out of Helium, which is very useful in MRI machines, fiber-optic cables, and of course, birthday parties. Scientists are researching alternative fixes so society will be able to continue to utilize technology, especially for modern medical diagnoses. Earth science students are just finishing up their first unit on plate tectonics and preparing to take their first test. We have focused on the history behind the theory of plate tectonics in the first unit and in the next unit we will begin exploring what happens as a result of plate tectonics. This unit focuses mostly on volcanoes and earthquakes and will lead to some very interesting hands on activities. Astronomy just finished a unit focused on the history of astronomy. Students prepared presentations about past astronomers and their contributions to modern astronomy. We are now working on a unit about our place in the solar system. This unit focuses on bringing awareness to just how small we are compared to the rest of the universe. We erected a scale model of the solar system to give some perspective about how the first four planets are bunched around the sun and then the space between planets increases drastically as you move further away from the sunEcology students are recycling again this year. We have watched “The Lorax” and discussed environmental themes. We have also researched environmentalists, and analyzed our global footprints. In Earth Science we have made models of seafloor spreading and put together a flip book of Pangaea. The Salem science department is going to be hosting the SCA Math and Science Relays again this year. We are excited to bring together math and science students from SCA schools in the spirit of academic competition. We hope to show our skills in math and science and have a little fun along the way. We are looking forward to a fun science filled year at Salem High School.